91.5 Chapel Hill 88.9 Manteo 90.9 Rocky Mount 91.1 Welcome 91.9 Fayetteville 90.5 Buxton 94.1 Lumberton 99.9 Southern Pines 89.9 Chadbourn

The History Of The Smile

Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

A white-toothed smile is a gesture that many likely engage in dozens of times a day without thought. Historian Colin Jones traced the history of the smile and found a toothy smile is a relatively young phenomenon. 

In his recent book, "The Smile Revolution In Eighteenth Century Paris," he argues that the white-tooth smile emerged in 18th century Paris in conjunction with the cult of sensibility and the creation of modern dentistry.

An open mouth used to mean the person was [...] insane or their reason was totally out of control- Colin Jones

Host Frank Stasio talks with Jones, fellow at the National Humanities Center and professor of history at Queen Mary University of London, about the making of the modern smile. Jones will also present a lecture about the topic at the National Humanities Center this evening at 5 p.m.

Here he is taking you behind the scenes of his discovery:

The State of ThingsArtDentistryColin JonesNational Humanities CenterQueen Mary University of LondonHistoryArt HistoryBooksLouise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
Stay Connected
Anita Rao
Anita Rao is an award-winning journalist, host, creator, and executive editor of "Embodied," a weekly radio show and podcast about sex, relationships & health.
See stories by Anita Rao
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio